Trend Micro enters data loss prevention (DLP) market |
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By Neil Roiter, Senior Technology Editor, Information Security magazine
03 Dec 2007 | SearchSecurity.com |
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Trend Micro plans to integrate Provilla's data loss prevention (DLP) technology throughout its security portfolio starting with its OfficeScan endpoint security software in the second half of next year, while continuing to sell standalone DLP products.
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The endpoint security guys are beefing up their clients; everyone is looking at DLP as a thing to add to endpoint security.
Jon Oltsik,
senior analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group
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Trend outlined its general plans as it announced the rebranded Trend Micro Leakproof 3.0, the first upgrade since it acquired Provilla in October. The release features highly customizable user alerts to flag noncompliant behavior and enforce policy. Companies will be able to deliver policy-specific dialog boxes at the point of violation and direct users to company links to review correct policy.
Many companies and analysts have identified user awareness as a key value of DLP technology, preventing well-intentioned employees from inadvertently leaking sensitive information and putting malicious insiders on notice that "someone is watching."
"We've taken user alerts to another level," said Glenn Koska, Trend's director of DLP marketing. "We talked to customers and looked at the research. The majority of breaches are unintentional, and companies say part of their data proteciotn strategy is to raise awareness."
Koska says Trend will eventually extend Provilla's agent-based endpoint DLP technology to the gateway, integrating it into Web and email security products, but still has to work out how and when that will happen. Independent DLP vendors generally offered either endpoint or gateway products, but have been moving to provide both capabilities as it became clear that comprehensive data security requires protection at both egress points and at the point of creation.
Incorporating DLP enables Trend to compete with its chief rivals, Symantec, which recently announced it's buying Vontu, one of the market leaders, and McAfee, which bought British DLP vendor Onigma in 2006 and offers both host- and gateway based DLP products.
"The endpoint security guys are beefing up their clients; everyone is looking at DLP as a thing to add to endpoint security," said Jon Oltsik, senior security analyst at Milford, Mass.-based Enterprise Strategy Group. "The trend is to look for pieces of tech to do that; they're opportunistic to get into DLP that way."
Leakproof 3.0 adds a scan-only version of its agent to discover data on desktops and servers. This helps companies identify risk points and understand how data is used, which will help both security and operations groups. Data discovery and classification enables corporations to determine the most cost-effective storage and backup procedures, in addition to helping secure sensitive data. EMC, which has become a major security player with its acquisition of RSA and several smaller companies, offers data classification and entered the DLP market, buying Tablus earlier this year.
"Over the next few years, data leak prevention will become part of endpoint solutions and part of gateway solutions," said Oltsik. "What may be standalone is classification. Enforcement belongs with some of the security vendors" while classification will belong more to file system and collaboration like SharePoint, Documentum, file systems, tagging, search engines, etc. What I'd call information intelligence technology."
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